CHANDRA SEKHAR RATH Vs. THE COLLECTOR ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PLAINTIFFS the Appellant against an affirming judgment in a suit for declaration of title, confirmation of possession or in the alternative for recovery of possession and for permanent injunction against the Defendant.

(2.) THE suit land measures 4.66 acres appertaining to plot Nos. 1808, 1809, 1810 and 1811 and plot No. 1916 of Khata No. 9 in village Sathiabatia in the district of Dhenkanal. According to the plaint case, the suit land was a part of the state belonging to the Deity Jayagopal Jew under the management and control of Dhenkanal Devottar. In 1951, the Plaintiff was inducted as a Sanja tenant and since then he is in continuing cultivating possession of the suit land after making substantial improvement to the same. In 1963, the Plaintiff made an application before the Commissioner of Hindu Religious Endowment under Section 19 of the Orissa Hindu Religious Endowments Act for taking the land on permanent lease basis and the said application was registered as O.P. Case No. 77 of 1962.63. The Commissioner in that proceeding passed an order on 9 -2 -1963 sanctioning permanent lease of the suit land in favour of the Plaintiff on his paying Rs. 450/ - as Salami as well as Sanja of 20 parties of paddy per year, as would appear from the order of the Commissioner (Ext. 3). On 18 -3 -1974, under the blanket notification issued under the Orissa Estates Abolition Act, the estate in question vested in the State of Orissa. Since, the Plaintiff was a tenant prior to [be date of vesting, Plaintiff claimed to be a tenant under the State under Section 8(1) of the Orissa Estates Abolition Act. In 1975, the Plaintiff filed an application before, the Tahasildar, Dhenkanal for conferring raiyati status on him and the Tahasildar restrained the Devottar Officer not to interfere with the possession of the Plaintiff over the land in question. Notwithstanding the aforesaid restraint order Defendant No. 2 illegally inducted Defendants 3 to 13 as tenants in respect of the suit land and at the instigation of Defendant No. 2, these Defendants 3 to 13 threatened to dispossess the Plaintiff, whereupon the Plaintiff has filed the present suit.

(3.) ON these pleadings the trial court framed as many as 8 issues. Under issue No. 5, namely whether the Plaintiff has acquired any right of permanent tenancy or occupancy over the suit land it was found that the Plaintiff being a temporary leases could not acquire the right of permanent tenancy even though he might be in possession former than twelve years. It was further found that the order of the Endowment Commissioner under Ext. 3 was not a lease, but an order sanctioning lease. The trial court further found that the Plaintiff's continuance in possession on the basis of payment of Sanja could not counter any title on the Plaintiff. Under issues Nos. 1, 3 and 4, namely whether the suit is maintainable or not and whether the suit is hit by the provisions of the Orissa Estates Abolition Act and the Orissa Land Reforms Act, the trial court held that the jurisdiction of the civil court was barred under Section 39 of the Orissa Estates Abolition Act and the right of the Plaintiff could not be adjudicated in the civil court. It was also held that the suit was hit by the provisions of the Orissa Land Reforms Act. Under issues Nos. 6 and 7, the trial court did not embark upon an inquiry and did not give any finding. Accordingly, the suit was dismissed. On appeal, all these findings of the trial court have been affirmed by the lower appellate court.